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One has to stop and take a deep breath coupled with a sarcastic “Lord have mercy, #MovingWhileBlack.”
Former President Barak Obama’s White House staffer, Darren Martin, a native New Yorker (Bronx Borough), was actively moving into his new Upper West Side, New York apartment when, according to the New York TV news station WPIX-TV, one of his new neighbors phoned the authorities to report that a building was being broken into.
Police were called and it was reported that an active break-in was in progress and that a “large” unidentifiable weapon of some kind was supposed to have been seen in the possession of the alleged perpetrator. Within minutes six (6) New York police officers appeared at Martin’s door and proceeded to question him regarding his right to be in the apartment.
Martin was wrongfully accused of breaking into his own apartment.
It is widely known that far too many white Americans are quick to dismiss any discussion, innuendo, generalization, or proof that systemic racism remains a huge cause for concern in our great America. Their unwillingness to discuss systemic racism is exacerbated by those same individuals refusing to clearly see the evidence. Unfortunately, a large majority of Americans join together with an orchestrated, concerted responses: “This idea of systemic racism is nothing more than ‘malcontents’ playing the RACE card.”
Martin expressed his chagrin and embarrassment of not only being questioned as to whether or not he even “belonged” in this residence but if he “belonged” in the immediate vicinity.
Do we dare ask the question, if Martin had been of a lighter hue attempting to move into this neighborhood would there have been a question as to his validity of residency or would his neighbors have come out, greeted him and assisted with the move-in?
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I was happy to move back to NYC and into my new apt in the UWS, near Harlem. The plan was to do this today in daylight, recording all the pomp that comes along with such a move. Well, life and work happens and you end up having to move on a Friday night at 11pm, and unexpectedly, pic.twitter.com/D16sHCEI7i
— Darren D. Martin (@MartinDarrenD) April 28, 2018
Black ex-Obama staffer has cops called on him while moving into new home https://t.co/VNTticLD2U pic.twitter.com/nqDx9z06hK
— The Hill (@thehill) May 3, 2018
#Movingwhileblack: A former White House staffer says he was accused of breaking into his own Manhattan apartment https://t.co/6PLKciDfqN pic.twitter.com/bGvkybUx32
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) May 2, 2018
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The large “weapon” reported to the police was obviously an item of furniture and did not have any resemblance to the alleged, reported, unidentifiable weapon.
Within this misguided rhetoric of “Make America great again” and given the fact that nationally, our law enforcement agencies have apparently adopted a shoot first ask questions later mentality, clearly opens the door to questionable motive in all of the most recent deaths that have occurred by those officers “fearing for their lives.” These types of atrocities find there way on many locals news outlets almost on a daily bases.
Martin’s disdain for the entire experience sends a wakeup call to those who incessantly ignore what is happening across the country.
Martin’s situation could well have gone far past the potential of being mildly volatile to being a catastrophe of deadly consequence simply because of racial profiling—some prejudiced, misguided notion that a break-in was taking place, based upon the subject being of a darker hue.
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Melvin Casey Lars ©
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